Happy Robot-Tines Day
by Wakkowarnerlover
Summary: After breaking up with his girlfriend, Perry decides to take the boys to Disney on Valentines Day to take his mind off of things. The peace is short-lived when Phineas, Ferb and Perry from the future appear, along with evil robots intent on destroying them. Meanwhile, Pinky tries to discover why the agency's psychiatrist is acting so suspicious. NOTE: THIS STORY IS PART OF A SERIES
1. Chapter 1

Samuel the squirrel hopped over to the next tree branch. He loved being a squirrel on this squirrel-ful day. There was no other thing he could possibly imagine being. Squirrels were just so squirrel-ful, and he, Samuel, was happy to be one.

Samuel stopped hopping for a moment to take in his surroundings. He became aware of a few voices behind him.

Samuel pricked up his ears and turned toward the source of the sounds. He saw two men walking behind some creature he had never seen before in his life.

Samuel knew about all the creatures in the forest: the fox-ful foxes, the bird-ful birds, and the bear-ful bears. But he had never seen an animal quite like this.

"…why we can't just say 'Get Out'." The shorter of the two men was saying. "Cryptic messages never work."

"A simple one will work less." The creature said. "In case you haven't noticed, I tend to over-analyze things. Besides, we don't want to reveal where we came from. This is our best bet."

"You've already come here. You already know." Said the shorter man. "Why don't we just knock on the door-"

"You know how much that will mess everything up." The creature stopped suddenly under the tree Samuel was sitting in. The two men nearly crashed into him.

"All right. We're pretty much alone." The creature said. He somehow managed to pull a rock out of his hip and handed it to the taller man. "Draw the door, and an arrow pointing out. Animate it."

The taller man pulled a green glowing rod out of his pocket. The creature's eyes lit up.

"I haven't ever seen a green one."

The taller man smiled. "Made this one myself. Does up to seventy frames instead of fifteen."

"You never told me you made a custom animator." The shorter man said, with a slightly hurt tone of voice.

"You never told me you revolutionized time travel." The taller man retorted.

"Shut up with the bickering or I'll smack you both across the face." The creature snapped. "Come on. This is the day, and I have no idea when they're gonna come."

"They might not even come." The shorter man said. "They could have left the information to throw us off."

"They're robots." The creature said. "I doubt they have the conscience to create a plan like throwing us off."

"They have a conscience." The shorter man said defensively, with a hint of pride. "They're very self-aware. Their programming is one of a kind."

"Look at you, defending them even after they've planned to kill you." The taller man snarled. "How darling."

"You two. Cut it out." The creature pointed at the rock. "Do it."

The taller man began to trace a pattern in the rock with the green rod, but Samuel saw no difference in the rock's surface.

"Did you connect them to Glow Alert?" The creature asked.

"Of course. We have to." The shorter man said.

"Good. Hook the rock up, and let's get moving."  
>The two humans and the creature began to walk again. Samuel watched them go.<p>

He had no idea what they had been doing. Humans were strange and mysterious creatures. Very human-ful.

Sampson began to hop from tree-branch to tree-branch again. Maybe if he was diligent, he would find a squirrel-ful nut.

**...**

Perry hadn't had a very good night, and the new day wasn't looking so promising either.

He tried to open the door of his lair, but it wouldn't budge.

"Stupid… door… thing… you shoulda recognized my stupid pawprint… you accepted it and everything…"

He rested his back against the door and tried pushing it again.

"It's February." Clara the chicken said, passing him as she walked down the hall.

Oh. That made much more sense.

Perry gave the door a much harder shove. It inched open just enough for him to crawl in.

Valentine cards and boxes of chocolates were the culprits blocking the door. Perry groaned and began to shovel them into a different section of the room.

Most of the chocolates were from Peter the panda, and some were from Darren the duck. The cards were from a few people Perry knew, and tons he hadn't ever met.

Finally he cleared a path away from the door. He sat down in his chair, exhausted.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Great." Perry called. "If you're bringing anything, PLEASE don't put it in the mail slot. Open the door and put it in Valentine Mountain instead."

Pinky the Chihuahua entered, carrying a brochure. He looked around the room.

"You always get a pretty good haul."

"It was blocking my door." Perry muttered. "Would you like to add to the pile?"

"It's not really a pile-thing. I hope it means more to you than everything making up Valentine Mountain."

"I don't know. It may be hard for you to trump Peter's bamboo-flavored chocolates."

Pinky handed him the brochure. "Happy Valentine's day from me. Take a look."

Perry looked at the front. Two kissing people were pictured, with a small person looking on in the background.

"Open it." Pinky said.

Perry did. He began to read.

_ Congratulations! You, your lover, and your third-wheel friend can go together to Disney for free on the amazing LOVEY-DOVEY (And third wheel) CABIN GETAWAY! Stay at our lovely wilderness resort cabins! You can sleep anywhere, and your friend can take one of the bunk-beds or have a wonderful time feeling single in a gigantic double-bed all their own! Free access to all parks! Dinners included. See you soon on the week of Valentine's day!_

Perry looked up. "Wow… thanks. They really know how to make dreams come true. And single people miserable."

"I heard you had a break that week. I figured you could take that girlfriend of yours and one of the boys." Pinky said.

"I'd have to take both the boys. Can't just leave one at home. That would be a double-third-wheel trip."

"It's only a three-person trip, though. I guess you wouldn't have to take a third person, though."

"No worries, I'll take the boys. We make three."

Pinky frowned. "Wouldn't you want to take your girlfriend? I mean, it's a Valentine's day thing."

"The boys love Disney. I'd have a great time with them. Thanks, Pinky. This really did trump the chocolate." Perry smiled.

"I guess… I just don't get why you wouldn't want to… wait. Where's your fedora? You always wear it."

"I had kind of a rough night last night and forgot it somewhere. I'll get it later… oh dang. It's with the thing I was gonna give you for Valentine's day. I'm sorry, Pinky. My head's really scrambled."

"You do seem a little out of it. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Well… see ya."

"Bye."

**...**

Phineas and Ferb were moping in the kitchen, a plate of heart-shaped cookies in front of them.

"You guys, too?" Perry asked when he came in.

"It's just been that kind of day." Phineas sighed.

"That kind of day when you eat too many heart-shaped cookies and you feel all bloated." Ferb said.

"Well, get un-bloated and cheer up. I rented a giant red truck and we're going to Disney."

"You're not funny." Phineas said.

"I'm serious. I got a free trip from Pinky. Three people."

"No way." Phineas sat up. Then he slumped down again. "Mom and dad though. How are we gonna fool them?"

"We tell them we'll be with Baljeet at Disney." Ferb said.

"That's a good idea. You can do Baljeet's mom's voice over the phone really good." Phineas said. "Let's ask them!"

They sped out of the kitchen.

**...**

"Are you supposed to go through three parking lots to get to Disney?" Ferb asked.

He was sitting next to Phineas, who was in the tiny seat in the front. Perry sat next to Phineas in the driver's seat.

"I'm scared to make turns in this thing." Perry said.

"Why'd you rent such a big truck?" Ferb asked.

"To take all our purchases home in."

"This seat's really uncomfortable." Phineas said.

"Your knees are blocking the cupholders." Ferb said.

"Stop it, you two. We're almost there."

"Can we clear that?" Ferb asked.

Perry had to drive on the grass in order to avoid the wooden Disney tollbooth. The man inside stared at them.

Perry handed him the brochure.

"Third-wheel Romantic Vacation?" The man asked.

"Yep." Phineas said. "Two kids and a platypus who's thirty in platypus years."

"I'm not THAT old yet." Perry scowled.

"Okay then. Cabin 487." The man handed the brochure back. "Um… enjoy your stay… I guess."


	2. Chapter 2

"I get the top bunk." Phineas said. He climbed up the ladder and hopped onto the bed. "It's the most fun."

Ferb put his bag down on the bottom bunk.

"I guess I get that bed." Perry pointed at the double-bed next to the bunks. "Or would you guys prefer I sleep in the living room?"

"No, we like you in here." Phineas said.

"I remember the last time I stayed in one of these cabins." Perry said. "I was upset because you guys vacationed here without me, so Monogram dragged me here and had me stay in a cabin. I roomed with Pinky, Pops and Billy, if I remember correctly."

"We would have taken you. Mom said they didn't allow pets." Phineas said.

"I found a cool rock." Ferb said, picking up a rock from his bed. "There's something on it."

"Look!" Phineas pointed.

A picture of a door appeared on the rock. The door opened, and an arrow pointed out of the door. The door opened again and again, and the arrow appeared each time.

"There's something outside the door." Phineas opened the bedroom door.

Nothing was there.

"Strange, though." Perry said. "This is…"

"Advanced technology." Phineas finished. "I've never seen any rock or any material that could make a rock do that. You'd need… some kind of… I don't know. I don't know how anyone would be able to make that."

Ferb looked thoughtful.

"Let's get dinner, shall we?" Perry said.

** ...**

"Ow. The elephant whacked me in the head again." Phineas said.

Perry looked up from his menu. The giant animatronic elephant standing near their table innocently moved his trunk back into position.

"Look on the bright side." Perry said. "At least it hasn't rained in a while-"

The ceiling of the restaurant turned black and dark. Thunder began to strike.

"OOOH OOH OOOH!" Shouted the animatronic gorilla, thumping his chest.

"EEEE EEEE EEE!" The monkeys screeched loud enough to be heard over the thunder.

Phineas and Ferb held their hands over their ears as the monkeys yowled. The thunder continued to crackle.

The elephant swung its trunk out, whacked Phineas in the nose, and gave a deafening trumpet.

Finally the thunder stopped. The elephant brought its trunk back, smacking Phineas in the nose again.

"In hindsight, perhaps the Rainforest Restaurant wasn't the best idea." Ferb said.

"It has good food." Perry said. "And it feels like you're in the rainforest."

"Translate what the monkeys said." Phineas said. "When it was raining. Their screeches."

"Bony mountain of flipperdeedoodle, jaguar nickel." Perry said.

"Interesting." Ferb said.

"I saw the brochure." Phineas said. "Why'd you bring us here and not your girlfriend?"

"Because I enjoy your company and I knew you liked it here. You're happy you came, right?"

"For sure." Phineas said. "I was just wondering. It's Valentine's day during this trip. I thought you guys would do something then."

Perry shook his head. "Nope. I would have brought you here anyway."

"Anyway? Did something happen?"

Perry stabbed his napkin with his fork. "Big fight last night. Don't wanna talk about it."

"I'm sorry." Phineas said.

"Not your fault. Ready to order?"

Phineas nodded. "There's this thing in the menu I want, but I can't pronounce it."

"Show me."

Phineas held up the menu.

The elephant swung its trunk out, smacking the menu out of Phineas's hand. The menu flew through the air and landed in a man's soup.

Phineas sighed.

** ...**

"This is an interesting movie." Perry said.

Phineas and Ferb nodded. They were sitting on the floor with a half-empty box of cookies in front of them. Perry was lying on the couch.

"I can't follow the plotline, though. What just happened?"

Phineas turned around. "So, the main character-"

"What's his name again?"

"Reginald."

"Oh. I thought it was that yellow-striped llama."

"That's Tomilson. Reginald is the one with brown stripes."

"So what's Reginald doing?"

"He's trying to become king."

"I thought he was already king."

"No, he's the prince. His uncle's gonna become king."

"His uncle was the one who fell off a cliff?"

"No, his DAD fell off the cliff."

"This is a confusing movie."

"Only if you keep dozing off."

"I like The Llama King." Ferb said. "It's a classic movie."

"You know what else is a classic movie?" Perry asked. "Worm Documentary 2: The Wonderful World Of Worms."

"I like the Llama King's name." Ferb said. "His name is Moneky."

"I bet it was a typo." Perry said. "Someone was trying to type 'monkey' and typed 'moneky'."

"I like the name Remus." Phineas said. "It was the name of the toy cow that Bucky used to chew on."

"Remus the Cow." Ferb said.

"He was an ugly toy cow, but he was Bucky's cow so we respected him." Phineas said. "And gave him the epic name of Remus, after that kid in the Roman legend."

The llama on the television began to sing.

"You know what would be funny?" Perry asked. "If they made a digital remix of that llama singing."

Ferb began to create a backbeat.

"Oooh I simply must be a king!" The llama sang.

"That is already so much better." Perry said. "Keep doing the backbeat."

"I don't want to do it through the whole movie."

"Just through the whole song." Perry said. "Or is the song the whole movie?"

"The Llama King: The Musical." Ferb said.

"Guys, I wanna watch the movie." Phineas said.

"Uh-oh. You're getting tired. You're cranky when you're tired." Perry pointed at the cookie box. "Pass me one."

"There's a giant tortilla chip in the window." Phineas said.

"You're hallucinating. You're tired."

"No, look." Phineas pointed.

A giant shadow of a triangle was on the window.

"What the heck?" Perry asked.

"Maybe it's a triangle-shaped tree branch." Ferb said.

Perry drew back the curtain and looked out the window. Nothing was there.

"Just a shadow." Perry closed the curtain. "Chill."

** ...**

Lowe the fennec fox was trying to remember which of his pens had run out of ink.

He stared at the two black pens he held in his paws. They felt the same, and they apparently wrote the same. But he knew one of them was low on ink, and was going to run out of ink on him if he really needed it.

Lowe sighed and packed both pens in his bag. Monogram had insisted he take a vacation, but Lowe didn't really want to leave yet. He was afraid someone might need him. Besides, where would he go? He didn't have many places that felt as much like home as the O.W.C.A did.

Lowe heard a familiar cranking noise in the right side of the room. He turned towards the sound in horror.

Underneath the portrait of the smiling fennec fox, sitting innocently on the mantle, a music box was playing a cheerful tune. The little panda bear in the music box spun around and around.

"Music." A voice said softly. "I like music. I like it. Music, music, music."

"Music is nice, isn't it?" Lowe said quietly.

"Yes, it is. I like it."  
>"I'm going to be leaving for a few days." Lowe said.<p>

"I have music. I am happy."

Lowe nodded. He knew the voice was happy, but still he felt uneasy.

Because whenever the voice spoke, whenever it played its favorite music box, it reminded Lowe of the one day in the year when the voice was not happy. And that day was coming soon.

The music box stopped. The voice spoke no more. But Lowe still felt its presence.

Lowe looked up at the fennec fox portrait. It smiled down at him like it always did, except now its eyes looked a little more menacing.

** ...**

The boys were already awake when Perry got up. They were playing some video game on the tiny television.

"What on earth are you two doing? This is DISNEY. You don't play video games at Disney. Disney is entertainment itself."

"You weren't up yet." Phineas said. "So we played one of the free video games that came with the room. This one's called Super Awesome Hero Man."

The game began with a cutscene of a handsome heroic man. A theme song began to play.

"SUPER AWESOME HERO MAN, HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! WOAH-OH-OH-OH!"

"Okay, Ferb. You can play now." Phineas handed the controller to Ferb.

Super Awesome Hero Man began running around the screen. It crashed into a wall.

"I think I hit a dead end." Ferb said. "I have no idea where to go."

"Keep jumping around!" Phineas said.

Super Awesome Hero man jumped into all the walls.

"I CAN'T GET OUT." Ferb said.

"Super Awesome Hero Man, here to save the day…" Perry began to sing.

"Oh, shut up." Ferb snapped.

"I got breakfast from the Trading Store or whatever." Perry said.

"They have a trading store?" Phineas asked, switching off the game.

"Yeah. You trade certain amounts of money for merchandise. Anyway, I found Mickey Mouse pancakes and stuff. Don't worry. He isn't actually in the pancakes. They're just shaped like him."

"It would be weird to have a food shaped like you." Ferb said, opening a bag of tortilla chips.

Phineas eyed the bag nervously.

"Anyway, come sit down at that table over there and I'll make them. I took cooking training a couple years back, and I vaguely remember how to make pancakes."

"This should be interesting." Phineas said. He sat down in the couch seat and smiled at Ferb. "This is fun, Perry. Thanks for taking us."

"Thanks for being willing to come." Perry said. "Now… do I just pour this floury-like pancake mix on the pan, or am I supposed to add stuff to it?"

** ...**

"It's so cold. Are you sure you guys want to ride the rapids ride again?" Perry asked. "We might get wet."

"That's the funnest thing about it!" Phineas said.

"The imminent frozen danger." Ferb said.

"All right… I guess. Keep your coats on." Perry wrapped his scarf tighter around himself.

They got in line.

"Hey, it's you two again. And Perry the platypus." A voice said.

Perry turned in surprise.

"Hi, Dr. D!" Phineas said. "What are you doing here?"

Doofenshmirtz sighed. "My brother Roger took me on a stupid third-wheel trip with his date. I ditched them first chance I got."

"Cool, you can hang out with us!" Phineas said.

"I'm sorry, I think my ear was jammed up when you said that." Perry said. "Did I hear you correctly?"

"Come on, Perry. It'll be fun." Phineas said.

"It will!" Doofenshmirtz said. "I promise I won't do anything evil, okay? Please?"

Perry sighed. "Fine."

"Excellent." Phineas said.


	3. Chapter 3

"We reserved a table like an hour ago." Doofenshmirtz said to the man at the front desk of the TV Delights Restaurant.

"I don't see the name 'Doofenshmirtz' here anywhere." The man said.

"That's because we reserved under Flynn-Fletcher." Phineas said.

"Oh. Well, how was I supposed to know what your last name was?" Doofenshmirtz said.

"I told you a few minutes ago. Ferb's last name is Fletcher and my last name is Flynn, so it's Flynn-Fletcher."

"I could have sworn you guys were twins."

"We're brothers, but we're not twins."

"Ah."

Perry tugged on Doofenshmirtz's lab coat and pointed at the man behind the desk.

"Oh. Sorry." Doofenshmirtz said. "Reservations for Flynn-Fletcher."

"Here we are." Said the man. "Come this way."

He led them into a 50's-style diner. They sat at a booth table with a small black-and-white television in the middle.

"I love TV with dinner." Phineas said. "Disney is the best."

"Can I get you anything to drink?" The waiter asked.

"Water for Perry and lemonade for me." Phineas said.

"Water." Doofenshmirtz said.

"Three big glasses of chocolate milk." Ferb said.

The waiter left.

Doofenshmirtz gave Ferb a suspicious look. "That's a lotta chocolate milk."

"Ferb runs on it." Phineas said. "Sometimes he has twelve glasses a day."

"I can't help it." Ferb said. "When I was a baby, my father didn't know that I needed to eat human milk instead of cow milk. And for some reason the supermarket was all out of normal milk. So he gave me chocolate milk instead. And I had it for a whole month before they finally got milk in stock again."

"So you were raised by cows." Phineas said.

"In a sense, yes." Ferb said.

"I was raised by ocelots." Doofenshmirtz said.

Phineas started laughing.

Perry nudged him. "He isn't kidding."

Phineas immediately stopped laughing and stared at the TV. "So… have you guys ever actually seen any of these old shows?"

"I've seen that old sitcom with the platypuses." Doofenshmirtz said, pointing at the television, where a family of platypuses was gathering around a dinner table. "But it's not very realistic. The platypuses don't even punch people."

"Perry's special." Phineas said.

** ...**

"The O.W.C.A will be closed on the date posted at the front of the hallway." Monogram said over the intercom. "It is imperative that every single agent is OUT of the agency before that day. Do NOT come back until the next day."

"They do that every year." Devon the dog said. "I don't see why they have to keep reminding us."

"I guess it's for the new recruits." Pinky said. "I wonder why they close the agency, though."

"Probably to clean." Darren said. "Or to do some chemical thing to the floorings."

"Or maybe Monogram and Carl secretly have milkshake parties." Peter the panda said.

Everyone stared at him.

"What? It could happen."

Lowe padded into the room, holding a bag. "Have you seen Major Monogram?"

Devon shook his head. "Probably in the recording room, though. He was over the intercom."

"Of course." Lowe said, adjusting his glasses. "I should have thought of that. Thank you very much."

"We're wondering why the agency closes on the same day every year." Pinky said.

"Do you have a theory?" Peter asked.

Lowe suddenly seemed very nervous. "I… I guess they just do it to… give everyone a break each year, or something."

"They're very forceful about everyone leaving." Pinky said.

"I wouldn't look into it." Lowe said. "It's most likely nothing. Have you seen Major Monogram?"

"Uh… no. Like we said, he's probably in the recording room." Devon said.

Lowe wiped his brow. "Right, right. Sorry. I think I'm getting a little frazzled. I don't like having to take breaks. Thank you."

He left.

Pinky frowned. "He's hiding something. He knows why we have to leave every year on the same day."

"I doubt it." Darren said. "He's probably just sick or something. And he always gets weird when it's cold. He's a desert animal, you know."

"Think again." Said a voice.

The agents all turned to face Timothy the Tortoise.

"We never had to leave the agency on that day back when I was a new recruit." Timothy said. "But the year Lowe came in… that was when they started doing that. Perhaps it's a coincidence. I think not."

Timothy slowly began to walk away.

Pinky thought for a moment.

"We're gonna spy on Lowe, aren't we?" Peter asked.

Pinky nodded.

** ...**

"I asked for a kid's portion of mac and cheese. Not the entire state of Alaska." Phineas said.

"They give you big portions here." Perry said. "Here, we can share."

Ferb downed his third glass of chocolate milk. "I'll eat some too."

"Do you guys mind if I stay with ya?" Doofenshmirtz asked suddenly. "I hate being on this trip with Roger. I have to sleep in the living room and he's always getting all mushy with his girlfriend."

"Sure, you can sleep in the living room." Phineas said.

"I guess that's all right, so long as I'm not back in that other cabin." Doofenshmirtz said.

"You'd think you were the one drinking all the chocolate milk." Perry said. "He can't stay with us."

"Come on, Perry. You know him."

Perry frowned. "All right. I know he won't hurt you guys. But he has to promise not to do ANYTHING evil."

"You can't do evil." Phineas said.

"I promise." Doofenshmirtz said. "Sheesh, how many times have I gotta tell him that?"

"Ooh, look! It's an old Pinhead Pierre rerun!" Phineas said, turning up the volume of the television.

"Eh. Odd show. Have you ever seen El Matador De Amor?" Doofenshmirtz asked.

Phineas shrugged. "Nah. But I like Pierre. You should give it another try."

** ...**

"I got his file." Devon said, crawling up next to Pinky in the airvent. "Lowe joined the agency a few years after Timothy, but he was only an agent for a few months before he became the psychiatrist."

"Kind of strange, but not really anything weird." Pinky said.

Peter looked disappointed. He was already strapping the harness onto Darren. "Aww. I wanted to lower Darren down into Lowe's room to investigate."

"We still will investigate." Pinky promised. "We just need to find out what we're looking for."

"Here comes the strange stuff." Devon said. "His vision is marked down here as twenty-twenty."

Pinky raised an eyebrow.

"But he wears huge glasses." Peter said. "Why would he need glasses if he had perfect eyesight?"

"Exactly." Pinky said. "Very suspicious."

"There are more suspicious things." Devon said. "He's labeled with a danger level of eighty-one."

"What's a danger level?" Peter asked.

"Didn't you know?" Darren said. "Every agent is marked with a danger number of one to one hundred, one being the least dangerous. It gives you an idea of how dangerous it could be to be around that agent. Perry, for instance, has a danger level of seventeen because of his short temper. Edie the elephant has a danger level of twenty because she can step on smaller agents without knowing it."

"Why would Lowe have one of eighty-one?" Devon asked himself. "Maybe it's a typo and it meant to say eight or one. Lowe's super-nice. I can't see why he'd be dangerous."

"Maybe he has a split personality." Peter suggested. "One Lowe is really nice, and one is super angry. And the nice one has really bad vision."

"He's a psychiatrist." Darren said. "How could he have a split personality? He WORKS with people with split personalities."

"The NICE Lowe does." Peter said.

"We may as well lower Darren." Pinky said. "We have no idea when Lowe will be back in his office."

Devon opened the air vent, and Peter lowered Darren into Lowe's office. "See anything?"

"Just a lot of couches, some papers, and pictures of fennec foxes all over the walls. There's also a music box on the fireplace mantel."

"Take a look at the papers." Pinky said.

Peter lowered Darren a little more.

"They're just papers he's written on other agents." Darren said. "And a couple of notes on psychiatry things."

"I hear someone coming." Devon said.

Peter began to pull Darren back up. "Did you eat bricks for breakfast?"

"Hurry it up!" Darren hissed.

Lowe opened the door and looked up at Darren.

All of the agents froze.

"Hello, Darren." Lowe said calmly.

"Um… hi." Darren said.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"If you needed to see me, you could have used the door." Lowe said.

"I'll do that next time." Darren said, his face turning red.

"Hi, Lowe!" Peter poked his head out of the air vent. "Do you have a split personality?"

Pinky sighed. "We'll have to be more careful next time."

** ...**

"I'm too full to do anything." Phineas moaned. "Full… full…"

"Try to distract yourself." Perry said. "Look at the pretty birds."

"Birds eat food and get full." Phineas said.

"You shouldn't have eaten all that mac and cheese." Perry scolded. "The plate was bigger than your head."

"And that's saying something." Ferb said.

Phineas glared at him.

"How much longer do we have to walk to get to the campfire?" Doofenshmirtz whined.

"He's as bad as you two." Perry said.

"Not much farther." Phineas said. "It's right up there."

"We have to buy graham crackers." Ferb said. "And chocolate and marshmallows. Tons."

"Be quiet." Phineas muttered.

"Do you like s'mores?" Ferb asked Doofenshmirtz.

"Yep. But I have no idea why they're called s'mores."

"Because they're so good you'll want s'more." Ferb said.

"This Disney campfire is the best." Phineas said. "Because it has a movie with it. You get to roast your own marshmallows and watch. And I'd be able to enjoy it if I wasn't so full!"

"I hope the movie is The Llama King." Ferb said.

"Ugh. No. Please. I can't keep that plot straight." Perry said.

"My favorite Disney movie is that one about that girl that eats a banana and dies." Doofenshmirtz said.

"Sky Blue?" Phineas asked.

"That's a good movie." Ferb said.

They sat down at the campfire.

"And now, for the movie." The announcer said.

The big projector screen lit up.

100,567 POODLES appeared on the screen.

"Oh, THIS movie with all the poodles." Doofenshmirtz groaned.

"I like this one." Phineas said.

Perry cuddled up between the two boys and stared at the projection.


	4. Chapter 4

"I still don't get this rock." Phineas said.

Perry had already fallen asleep in the double-bed and was snoring loudly. Phineas and Ferb were the only ones awake.

"I think someone made it to tell someone something." Phineas said.

Ferb yawned.

"And how can the picture move? We don't have that kind of technology nowadays. Even if we wanted to make something like this… I just don't get it. Is there something outside the door?"

He stared at the rock. The rock made no response. It kept replaying the glowing picture of the door opening for the arrow to point out of it.

"Don't worry about it." Ferb said. "It was probably left here by someone else for someone else."

"But who? Who could have this technology?"  
>"Aliens." Ferb said.<p>

"You think it could be a message from Meap?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

Phineas was silent for a while.

"Ferb?"

Ferb said nothing. Phineas knew he was waiting for him to talk.

"It looks like the way you draw doors." Phineas yawned. "You put the knob down really low. Like if it was a door for a chipmunk to open."

"I didn't make that."

"I didn't say you did, Ferb. I just think it looks like the way you draw doors." Phineas rolled over and closed his eyes.

**...**

"Happy Valentine's Day." Perry said.

Phineas and Ferb walked sleepily into the room. Perry pointed at two bags on the kitchen table. "Go on. They're for you."

"Should we be out here?" Phineas pointed at Doofenshmirtz, still asleep in his double-bed.

"He could sleep through a marching band." Perry said. "Trust me, I hired one once. Go on. Open your bags."

Phineas put the weird rock down on the table and opened his. Ferb did as well.

"Aw, thanks Perry." Phineas said. The boys started taking out their heart-shaped chocolates, jelly beans and pink hot chocolate.

"Figured you'd like that pink hot chocolate. It's very Valentine-y."

"It reminds me of Candace." Phineas said. "Can you make it for us?"

"Sure." Perry took the packets and got some mugs out of the cupboards.

"I wonder how they make pink hot chocolate." Phineas said.

"From pink cocoa beans." Ferb said.

"Did you get any for Doofenshmirtz?" Phineas asked.

"Of course." Perry said. "He'd hold it against me forever if I didn't."

"I think he's a nice guy." Phineas said. "Underneath all the evil."

Perry shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. So, what park do you guys want to go to today?"

"That park with the ride that goes fast." Ferb said.

"You'll have to be more specific than that." Perry said.

**...**

"I found more!" Devon said, bursting into Pinky's lair.

Pinky stared at him.

"More on Lowe. And this time it's REALLY weird." Devon said.

"Anything on that day off?"

"No, not yet. Well, kind of. I searched files at the O.W.C.A and found this." Devon waved a paper in the air. "Apparently, on that day that the agency closes, the year Lowe joined the agency, he was found unconscious on the floor of the main room with scratches down his back. All the files that gave extra information on it were all blocked."

"That's it. I'm talking to him." Pinky said. "The day off was strange enough, but now it seems…"

"Stranger." Devon finished.

"Stranger." Pinky agreed.

**...**

Pinky knocked on Lowe's door.

"Come in." Lowe said.

Pinky entered. Darren was right about the fennec fox pictures. They were everywhere.

"Those pictures of your family members?" Pinky asked.

"Some of them." Lowe said. "My sisters and brothers, mostly. Did you need to talk about something? Or did someone send for me?"

"I just had a few questions." Pinky said. He sat down on one of the many couches.

"Go ahead." Lowe said.

"Why do you wear glasses?"

"I need them." Lowe responded.

"Well, I was… helping sort files in the medical room the other day, and your file said you had perfect vision."

"I do. For a fennec fox." Lowe smiled. "I can't see very well in this moist environment, though."

"Ah." Pinky said.

"Is that all you were wondering about?"

"No, actually." Pinky said. "Why did you quit being an agent to be a psychiatrist?"

"I have a lung disease that prevents me from doing too much physical activity. I also wasn't very good at hand-to-hand combat. You have no reason to be suspicious of me, Pinky."

"What?"

"You're suspicious of me. You have a right to be, of course, but you should know that I don't think you need to know why I have such a strange record. It won't ever affect you. It will always only affect me." He looked tired as he said this.

"Why is it such a big secret?" Pinky asked. "Why do we always have to leave on that one day?"

"I can't talk about that here." Lowe said with a sigh. "Just know that it's for a good reason. And that it'd be best if you didn't look into it."

They sat in silence for a while.

Pinky looked up at the big portrait of a fennec fox on the wall. It smiled warmly down at him.

"That looks like you. Is it?"

Lowe shook his head.

"Your brother?"

Lowe didn't respond.

Pinky watched the portrait. Somehow the smile didn't seem as warm anymore. The eyes had more of a hungry expression.

"It looks like it's…"

"Changed expressions? It does that." Lowe said. "If you're feeling sad, it may seem to be taunting you. Or scared, it may seem scary. When you feel all right, he smiles at you."

"So it plays on your emotions?"

"In a way." Lowe said.

**...**

"Ferb, hurry up and choose what ice cream you want. You always take forever when we get to the front of the line."

"There are so many flavors." Ferb said.

"Do they have garlic?" Doofenshmirtz asked.

"Where's Phineas?" Perry asked. "PHINNY!"

"He went off to the water fountain, I think." Ferb said.

"Who?" Doofenshmirtz asked.

"Phineas." Ferb said.

"There he is. Hold my spot." Perry crawled out of the line. "PHINEAS! What the heck are you doing in the hot dog line? We're getting ice cream!"

Phineas turned. Perry took a step back. It wasn't Phineas. It was just some random human who looked a lot like him.

"Sorry." Perry said. "Thought you were someone else."

He realized the person wouldn't be able to understand him. Only Phineas and Ferb had translators. He sighed and went back to Ferb and Doofenshmirtz.

"You'd think there wouldn't be so many people with triangle heads around." Perry muttered.

"What?" Phineas asked, coming up to them.

"Where were you?" Perry demanded.

"I told Ferb I was going to the water fountain. Didn't he tell you?"

"Perry thought you were in the hot dog line." Ferb said.

"Why would you think that? We're getting ice cream, right?" Phineas asked.

"You've got a doppleganger." Perry said. "Some man who looks a lot like you is in the hot dog line."

Phineas looked toward the hot dog line. "Huh. What are the odds?"

"You can see why I mistook him for you, right?"

"He's staring at us now. Kind of creepy." Phineas grabbed Perry's hand.  
>Perry looked. Sure enough, the man was gazing at Phineas as though he had never seen a more fascinating child.<p>

"Probably sees the resemblance." Perry said. "All the same, I don't like him staring at you."

"Well, in all fairness, we stared at him first." Ferb said.

The man finally looked away. Perry felt Phineas's grip relax.

"You don't know him, do you?" Perry asked.

Phineas bit his lip. "No… I don't think so… but… yes… I do… I feel like I've seen him before… like I know him… my head hurts."

"Here. Ferb, you order for the three of us. I'll take Phinny outside for a few minutes." Perry guided Phineas out of the line and into the fresh air. Phineas rubbed his head with his free hand.

"Do you know where you've seen him before?" Perry asked.

"I… no. I just know him. And I have no idea how."

"Do you want to sit down?"

Phineas nodded.

Perry led him over to a bench. "All right. Just stay sitting for a while, okay?"

**...**

Perry woke up to a loud crack of thunder.

He sat up and looked toward the boys, who were rubbing their eyes.

"Dang." Perry said. "I was having a dream about Doofenshmirtz giving me doughnuts. Stupid thunder…"

The thunder sounded again. A loud wind blew against the wall.

"Much worse than most storms." Ferb said.

A glowing light was coming from Phineas's bed. Phineas reached under the sheets and pulled out the rock.

It was blinking urgently. The green glow became brighter and brighter.

"Get out. Why didn't I see it before?" Perry whispered.

"Huh?" Phineas asked.

"The rock with the door. It's telling us to get out. Hurry, grab your stuff."

Perry shook Doofenshmirtz awake and they ran out the front door. The wind nearly knocked them over.

"Open up the truck!" Phineas yelled at Doofenshmirtz.

Doofenshmirtz yanked open the truck door and helped the boys inside. Perry clambered in last and slammed the door. He started to back out of the driveway.

"What are those?" Ferb asked.

Off in the distance, gigantic cloaked robots were slowly making their way toward their cabin.

Phineas started shaking next to Perry. Perry put a hand on his arm. "It'll be okay, Phinny. I promise."

He drove on.

"There are people shooting at the robots." Ferb said.

Perry looked.

Three people were standing out in the wind. The robots were trying to smash them.

"No… it couldn't be…" Perry said.

"What? What is it?" Ferb asked.

"Where are we gonna go?" Phineas asked.

"To another Disney hotel." Perry said. "Far from here."

"Perry, who are those people?" Ferb asked.

"…Us." Perry said.


	5. Chapter 5

"There are lions right outside the hotel window!" Phineas said. "This is so awesome!"

"It's Disney, what did you expect?" Ferb asked. "A hotel WITHOUT lions?"

"Hush, you two. This has got to work." Perry said.

The rain had stopped a few moments ago. The lions in the Africa Hotel courtyard were playing with puddles.

Perry dialed his own number and waited while it rang.

"No response." Perry said finally.

"Well, of course not." Ferb said. "You'd have to answer the phone. Why are you calling yourself?"

"Just a theory…" Perry looked out at the lions. "Don't worry about it. We should get to bed."

"I hope those robots don't find us." Phineas said.

"I won't let them." Perry said. He looked toward Doofenshmirtz, who had already passed out on the couch holding a zebra-shaped pillow.

**...**

"This is our last source for information." Pinky said.

"I thought Lowe said you had no reason to suspect him." Peter said.

Pinky looked at him.

"I can listen at doors if I want to. It's a free country." Peter said.

Pinky typed _LOWE_ into the O.W.C.A search archive.

"Wow. Fifteen results." Darren said. "Who knew there were that many agents named Lowe?"

"Which one's him?" Pinky asked.

"Probably that one." Devon pointed. "Lowe Land, Fennec Fox."

Pinky selected the file. A photo of baby Lowe popped up, as well as a current photo. "Keep an eye out for any weird stuff, guys."

They all read over Pinky's shoulder.

_NAME: Lois Land_

_AGE: 14 Years_

_GENDER: Male_

_OCCUPATION: Former Agent, Agency Psychiatrist_

_DANGER LEVEL: 81_

_PARENTS: F. Land, Frida Land (Mindless)_

_ASSOCIATIONS: None in the past_

_WARNING: Do not make contact with if appearing unconscious. Keep close watch on during the month of February. Ensure that this agent LEAVES THE PREMISES on the closing day._

"I found strange things." Peter said, pointing. "His name isn't really Lowe! It's Lois!"

"Lowe is just short for Lois, Peter." Pinky said.

"But it still has four letters. That's not any shorter."

"So strange." Devon said. "Why wouldn't they list his father's full name? And what happens to Lowe in February?"

"The closing day." Pinky said. "That's the day we have to get out of here. I keep thinking we're getting close. But the more we find, the more confused I get."

**...**

Perry jolted awake, his heart thudding. He was drenched in sweat.

He looked toward the bed, where Phineas and Ferb were asleep. Safe.

Perry choked a sigh of relief and lay back down. Just a nightmare. Nothing to be worried about.

"Mushrooms." Ferb murmured in his sleep.

Perry couldn't fall asleep. He paced for a while on the floor before hopping into Phineas and Ferb's bed. He curled up between them.

**...**

"Perry! Perry!"

Perry opened his eyes. Phineas was shaking him.

"Oh good. You were making a lot of noise. I thought you were hurt or something. Did you have a bad dream?" Phineas asked.

"Yes… again." Perry said. He rubbed his eyes. "I hate recurring dreams. They're either annoying or scary."

"I had an annoying dream once where all these bunnies were singing around me." Ferb said.

"Well, the good thing about recurring dreams is that once you figure out what they mean, they go away." Phineas said.

"Great. I'll just analyze it right here, right now. Oh, wait. I don't know how to do that." Perry said sarcastically.

"I ordered room service." Ferb announced. "Pancakes with chocolate syrup, chocolate candies, marshmallows, whipped cream, cherries, banana slices, chocolate chips, and chocolate milk to wash it down."

"Did Lawrence feed you extra-sugary baby food, too?" Perry asked.

"No. I just like chocolate." Ferb said.

"We ordered a bagel for you." Phineas said. "'Cause we know you like bagels. We didn't know what Doofenshmirtz liked so we just ordered eggs."

"He likes eggs."

"Good. He sleeps a lot."

"He lives next door to a lighthouse. He doesn't usually get a lot of sleep. Well, while room service is coming, I gotta call someone. Hold down the fort." Perry went into the bathroom, closed the door, and dialed a number.

"Hello?" Lowe asked.

"This is Perry."

"Ah, Perry. I haven't seen you around the agency lately."

"I took a vacation."

"That would explain it. I just now managed to get out of mine. Did you need something?"

"Yeah… actually. I keep having this dream… well, it's more of a nightmare, really… and I need to know what it means."

"How many times have you had it?"

"About two times so far."

"Explain it to me."

"I'm in this hall, and it's really dark. I'm running with my owners. We reach this kind of crevice and then… everything explodes. And I can hear them, but I can't see them. We're separated. And I can't tell them how to escape and I know the whole thing is just gonna blow."

Lowe was silent.

"What?"

"I just can't tell… without seeing you in person. A lot of non-verbal communication helps me understand what's going on in your mind."

"So… I should come there?"

"Yes, if possible. But don't worry about it now. Enjoy your time off."

"I need to know."

"Then come by when you can."

Phineas banged on the door. "PERRY, YOUR BAGEL IS HERE."

"AND SO ARE MY PANCAKES!" Ferb shouted. "CHOCOLATE SYRUP, CHOCOLATE CANDIES, MARSHMALLOWS, WHIPPED CREAM, CHERRIES, BANANA SLICES, CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND THREE GLASSES OF CHOCOLATE MILK!"

"Someone likes chocolate." Lowe said.

"I'll be there tonight." Perry said.

**...**

"So, I can't tell them how to get out and I know the whole place is going to explode." Perry repeated. "That's the dream."

Lowe frowned and looked over what he had written down on his notepad. "Any specific colors?"  
>"Red for the fire. Everything else was black, even with the fire all lit up."<p>

"Red symbolizes anger. Black usually symbolizes loneliness, or the unknown. Have you had anything happen recently that would somehow connect to this?"

"Other than giant robots attacking our cabin last night, I can't think of it. I guess… maybe I'm just nervous for Phineas and Ferb's safety or something."

"I think it's different than that." Lowe said. "Since the fire isn't lighting anything up, that makes me believe your black color in the dream stands for 'unknown'. Your subconscious may be wondering where these… robots came from, or may be warning you of a danger you weren't aware of."

"So… something might happen to them?"

"Not exactly. You may just be worried something might happen to them."

The lights flickered. Lowe looked up at the ceiling nervously.

"What time is it?" He asked quietly.

"About nine." Perry said.

Lowe looked back down at his pad. "We might want to leave soon. The agency's closed tomorrow. Shall we continue at a café or something?"

"Sure."

Lowe stood up. The lights went completely out.

"Something faulty with your electricity?" Perry asked.

Lowe spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "We'd better leave."

Perry felt Lowe grab his hand and drag him out of the room. The agency was completely dark.

Lowe flipped a switch on his watch. A small light came on.

"LOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A voice screeched.

Perry froze.

"You're early!" Lowe yelled, his voice shaking. "You're early! Tomorrow…"

"EEAAARRRLLLYYYY! YOUUU arree laatte, Lowe! TOOO LATEEEEE!"

"What's going on-" Perry began.

Lowe pulled him down the hall. Perry felt a chill sweep across him.

"Lowe, are we dealing with a ghost? Because I have a blaster for that. If I could only see it, I could…"

"I can see it. Give it to me." Lowe said breathlessly.

"Just be careful where you point it. It'll kill a living being." Perry handed Lowe the small ghost-blaster he always kept in his pocket.

Lowe fired a couple of shots behind him. An insane peal of laughter told Perry Lowe had missed.

"Almost there…" Lowe panted.

He skidded to a stop. Perry guessed the ghost had blocked the exit.

"Yoooouuuuu arreeennn'ttt leaavvinng." The voice growled. "IIII am not leeaaavvviiinggg. II am gooingg toooo telll youuuu my stooooorrryyyyy."

Lowe held up the ghost-blaster.

Perry fell to the ground, suddenly feeling much weaker. He felt as though he were slowly losing life.

"Let him GO!" Lowe shouted.

Perry saw a strong wind form around him. All he could see was white. Finally it died down.

Something was to his left. A sickly, thin, pale platypus with very sunken-in eyes. Its bones were showing everywhere.

"Please." It was saying. "Lowe, please. Get rid of it. He's an imposter."

Lowe looked confused.

Perry couldn't tell why Lowe would confuse the creature with him until he looked down at his own hands.

The ghost had used half of him to create a double. And was now forcing Lowe to choose which one to shoot with the blaster.

"Lowe… it's me." Perry said. He could barely talk. "You know it's me."

"He's lying. Please, Lowe. Please." The other platypus croaked.

"Which one shall you chooooseee, Lowwweeee?" The voice squealed joyfully. "Which one will youuuu elliiimmminnatteee?"

Lowe rubbed his forehead. He took a step back. "I'm not shooting either of them."

"Ooohhhhhh, gooodddyyy. Noowwww I caann teellll thisss creature my storrryyyyy!"

"Don't." Lowe said sharply. "Just hold on."  
>"I willll not hold onnn!" The ghost yowled. "IIIIIII ammm gooinnggg tooooo telll myyy stoooorrryyy."<p>

"Leaves." Lowe said.

Instantly an image flashed through Perry's mind. His best friend, Terrence the turkey, playing with him in a leaf pile... the day before he was gone forever.

The emotional pain Perry felt attacked him twice as hard. He clenched his teeth, trying to keep the tears from coming.

He heard a blast, and a green light shone next to him. The pain started to go away. He felt his strength return to him.

He looked up at Lowe.

"It only holds them off for a few minutes."

Lowe nodded. "Let's move."


	6. Chapter 6

Lowe closed the door of the house. The wind tore at the trees outside.

Perry stood in the living room, shivering. He had his wind back, but he was still unable to settle his nerves.

"Where is this?" He asked.

"My home." Lowe said. "I only come here when I can't be in my office." He helped Perry up the carpeted stairs into a larger living room with an entire wall of windows. "Lie down."

"I can stand."

"It's probably better if you don't. You're very shaken."

"Lowe, I'm fine."

"Lie down."

Perry sat down on a black couch facing the window. He tried to stop his hands from shaking.

"You need something." Lowe said. "Water? Milk?"

"…Anything… just anything."

Lowe started looking in his cupboards. "I'm sorry I had to remind you of your friend. I wouldn't have been able to tell it was you otherwise."

"That's okay… did he split me in half?"

"Yes, into two beings. You're fine now, Perry. Just lie down."

"His… story?"

"In a moment." Lowe said. He placed a glass of water on the table in front of Perry. Perry didn't touch it.

Lowe sat down across from him. "I should explain. We're safe here. I devoted myself to analyzing emotions ever since I was young. My father was insane. He loved music, and it was the only thing that calmed him. The year I joined the O.W.C.A, my father died. When I was a field agent, I heard his voice periodically, and sometimes his favorite music box would start playing in my lair, now my office. I thought nothing of it at first… I thought I was just a little crazy. But then, on the anniversary of his death, his ghost spoke to me again. It shouted at me. It hated me. He told me his "story" about how he defeated his worst enemy. I only remember pain after that. I was found unconscious and badly scratched in the main room of the agency. The items in my lair had been completely destroyed. I wrote Monogram about what happened, and he realized the other agents could be in peril. So he makes sure they all are gone on my father's death anniversary. I'm so sorry, Perry. I had no idea he would get angry before that time."

"So that- whatever was talking, that ghost- is your dad."

"Yes." Lowe said. "And it's very difficult to get him to leave me alone."

"I'm starving."

"There's a good restaurant not far from here. I can order in."

** ...**

Phineas woke up and tried to stretch. For some reason, he couldn't move his arms.

"Ferb?"

It was completely dark. Phineas couldn't see a thing. Was he still in the hotel?

"Ferb?" He called again.

"I'm right here." His brother's voice said. "Your voice is higher than normal. What happened?"

"That's the other Phineas." A voice said. "They must have gotten him. I told Phineas to keep an eye on them…"

"I'm right here, ya know!" Another voice spat. "How was I supposed to keep an eye on them when I was tied up in the back of a truck?"

"Who are you?" Phineas asked nervously.

"This is Perry." The first voice said. "And Ferb, and you. Are Ferb and Perry with you?"

"Apparently."

"Not MY Ferb." Perry said. "Your Ferb."

"I don't know. I feel some people tied to me. I think it's Ferb. But no Perry. He went off last night."

"Ah."

A light came on. Phineas saw Perry all right- but it wasn't exactly Perry. He seemed to be a thousand years older than Perry. He was holding a match.

Tied to Perry were two men. The taller man looked like an adult version of Ferb. And the shorter man…

"I saw you in the hot dog line." Phineas said.

"That's you, Phineas." Old Perry said.

"And I know you. You're Perry's future self, right? The one he calls Agent. So… that must be… me and Ferb?"

"Aw, look, you're so smart." Older Ferb said to Older Phineas.

Older Phineas scowled.

"Why don't we just call them Flynn and Fletcher to save confusion?" Agent said. He held the match up a little higher. "Yes, Ferb is there. And… what's-his-face-shmirtz. I have trouble remembering names."

"Where are we?" Phineas asked.

"Kidnapped by the robots." Fletcher said.

"What robots?"

Flynn sighed.

"You see, Flynn here tried to make a bunch of bots that would cheer people up." Agent said. "Unfortunately, he forgot to screw in a certain bolt and… well, the robots became evil, threatened to kill us, and then stormed off through time to attack you guys here."

"You sent the glowing rock." Phineas said.

Agent nodded.

"It won't happen again." Flynn said. "I promise."

"What do you mean?" Phineas asked.

Flynn looked toward the wall. "I won't create any more robots."

"You can't just… not build stuff!" Phineas said. "You have to…"

Flynn looked back down at the ground.

"Don't mind him, he's crazy." Agent said. "No offense. Now that you're awake, I suppose we can figure out how to get out of here. You got any tools on you?"

"A couple of bolts. And a screwdriver."

"Excellent. I can use the screwdriver."

Phineas struggled to take it out of his pocket and handed it to him. Agent began using the screwdriver as a saw to cut through the ropes.

"Rope. Those bots aren't that smart at trapping things. See if you can wake your little friends there, Phinny."

"Ferb! Dr. D!" Phineas hissed. "Wake up!" He turned back to Agent. "Can the robots hear?"

"They can process soundwaves." Flynn said. "So yes, keep it low."

"Crankypants McGhee." Agent said. He broke through the ropes and started over to Phineas.

"Let me do that." Fletcher offered when Agent cleared half the distance and stopped to cough. He untied the knot that held Phineas, Ferb and Doofenshmirtz together.

Doofenshmirtz was revived when he fell on the floor. "OW! What's the big-"  
>"Shh." Phineas warned. He shook Ferb.<p>

Ferb rubbed his eyes. "What happened?"

He looked up at Fletcher. His eyes grew wide.

"Yes, yes, that's you." Phineas said impatiently. "Come on. We have to get out of here. Giant robots I invented are going to destroy us."

"When did you invent giant robots?" Ferb asked.

"In the future. Come on!"

Agent opened the cell door and sniffed the air. "Seems safe enough. Come along."

They headed down a dark hallway.

Phineas held tightly onto Ferb's hand. He hoped that the robots weren't patrolling the area.

Flynn and Fletcher walked apart, on either side of Agent. Phineas didn't like seeing them so spaced apart. He clutched Ferb's hand tighter.

"So, these robots? Are they big?" Doofenshmirtz asked nervously.

"Big. But don't worry. We have no intention of meeting up with them." Agent said. "Wait, does he have a translator? I can't remember. Too long ago."

"He doesn't." Flynn said.

"So? Big robots? Guys?" Doofenshmirtz asked again.

** ...**

Perry was hungry, but it was difficult to eat. He couldn't calm himself down enough to enjoy his meal.

Lowe watched him carefully.

"Stop staring at me." Perry said, accidentally dropping his fork.

Lowe went to his bookshelf and pulled out what Perry believed to be a dictionary. He flipped through it.

"What are you looking for?" Perry asked. He lay down on the couch.

"Take a nap." Lowe said quietly. He sat back down in his armchair and skimmed the pages.

"I'm not tired." Perry lied.

Lowe looked at him through the top of his glasses. "Worrying about them is going to put you in a conflicting position. Staying inside is the safest bet for now. Think about something that makes you happy."

Perry frowned. He had no idea what Lowe was talking about.

A slam sounded against the window. Lowe turned and gave a jolt.

"There's nothing there." Perry said.

But as he said the words, a scratch became visible on the window. Lowe's father was back. And he was writing a message.

_HI LOWE_.

"How can you see him?" Perry asked nervously.

Lowe pointed at his glasses. He closed the blinds. An aggravated shriek sounded from outside.

"This house is safe." Lowe said. "It's ghost-proof. Now please try to rest. Don't worry about your owners right now, it will only cause you more stress."

He was right. Half of the shakiness Perry felt inside was from fear of the ghost. But the rest was from his fear for his owners.

They were in danger. He felt it.


	7. Chapter 7

"LOWWWWWEEEE!" The voice screeched.

Perry pressed his pillow over his head. The voice sent cold ice down his spine.

"I'm so sorry." Lowe said again. "I wish I knew how to get rid of him, but… I just don't. I've tried."

"Do all ghosts get like that on their death day?"

"I don't know." Lowe said. "I studied psychiatry for animals, not phantoms."

"He finally stopped." Perry noticed.

A loud banging sound came from outside the house.

Lowe sighed.

"What's he doing?" Perry asked nervously.

"Nailing all of his favorite objects to the outside wall." Lowe said sadly. "It takes a long time to get them off."

**...**

"Dead end." Flynn said.

"Nice directional skills." Fletcher said sarcastically. "I told you we should have gone to the right."

"Boys. Shut up." Agent scolded. "All we have to do is turn around."

"This is kind of cool." Phineas said, looking at the walls. "The robots have amazing technology."

"Mediocre." Fletcher said. "The kinds we have back in the future are far superior to this."

"There's better stuff than this?" Phineas asked.

Fletcher grinned. "Tons more. I've even created-"

"Which way are we going, Sir Compass?" Flynn interrupted.

"In the opposite direction you tell us to. That'll guarantee we get back on course." Fletcher replied.

Agent whacked Fletcher with his cane. "Cut it out and TURN AROUND. It's like talking to a couple of bitter walls."

They started back the way they came.

"Hang on." Fletcher said, staring at a control panel on the wall. "Something's overheated. I can tell by the screens on the wall. We'd better watch our-"

A large explosion came from the floor in front of them. Flames blasted out of the walls.

Phineas felt himself blown back. He landed, bruised, on the floor.

He forced himself to get up. A wall of flames was in front of him. Agent was next to him, trying to push himself up with his cane.

"BOYS!" Agent yelled. "You all right?"

"We can't see you. Where are you?" Flynn called.

"We may have gotten separated. I have young Phineas with me."

"I've got young Ferb." Flynn yelled back.

"I have Doofenshmirtz." Fletcher shouted.

"You still have your headsets?" Agent asked. "We may have to go in opposite directions."

"Yes." Flynn said.

"Try to find the way out." Agent said. "If one pair of us escapes, help the others get out, got it?"

"Ferb!" Phineas yelled.

"We'll meet up with him later." Agent said. "Come on."

With surprising speed, Agent pulled him down a corridor.

**...**

Perry woke with a start. He looked around.

Lowe had fallen asleep in his armchair, his dictionary-sized book open on the floor. Lowe's father was still screeching outside.

"YOUUUUU DARRREE LOOCCCKK MEE OUTTT OFFF YOUURR HOUSSSEEEE? MYYYY OWWWNNN SOOOONNNN, HOWWWW DAAARREEE YOOOOUUUUU?"

Perry walked over to the book and picked it up. It appeared to be a book on ghosts.

He flipped through a few pages until he found an interesting-looking section.

_HOW TO GET RID OF GHOSTS:_

_The method of getting rid of ghosts is fully dependent on the kind of ghost you are dealing with. Ghosts generally act the same way they did in life, save for their Death Day, when they become increasingly agitated. If you are being harmed by a ghost, you may want to get rid of it._

"Ya think?" Perry asked. Outside, Lowe's father began scratching another message into the window.

_TYPES OF GHOSTS THAT CAN CAUSE HARM:_

_CATEGORY 1: Category 1 Ghosts have the same appearance they did in life, and they are very dangerous because they can physically maim, dismember, harm, and pretty much beat a person to a pulp. They cannot kill, however. They will listen to reason. If you ask them to leave, they probably will. If they have something against you, though, they probably won't and you'll have to get rid of it by putting flowers on its grave or helping it with unfinished business._

_CATEGORY 2: Category 2 Ghosts are basically a small little puff of smoke with the head they had in life. They can develop into the form they had in life, and then they will become visible to all. The small-puff-of-smoke form can be spotted if a light is shone directly on it. On the Death Day, the head enlarges to twice its size and the teeth give off a pointy appearance. These ghosts can only slightly injure people if they're really ticked off. You can get rid of it by doing the hokey-pokey or helping it with unfinished business._

_CATEGORY 3: Category 3 Ghosts look exactly as they did in life and are not transparent at all. One could be your best friend, and you wouldn't even know. Category 3's are completely unaware of their death and will go on with daily life as normal. On the Death Day, they become very weary and a little confused. They have a hard time getting things done. Things will not go through them, but they can inadvertently walk through things if they do not notice them. If your friend is walking through walls, he or she is most likely a Category 3 Ghost. You must gently break the news to them and help them with unfinished business to get them to rest in peace. Please note that some Category 3 Ghosts are only half-dead. They will come back to life if the person or ghost who almost killed them is gone. They will die if the person or ghost who almost killed them completely kills them._

_CATEGORY 4: Category 4 Ghosts are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. These ghosts look like Category 1 Ghosts on any day save for the Death Day. On the Death Day, the eyes become large and red, almost reptile-like. The mouth is permanently fixed into a sharp-toothed smile that stretches across the entire face. DO NOT COME INTO CONTACT WITH IT. These ghosts can split up a being into two, slowly drain the life from a being, and cook amazing pancakes. If one physically cuts you, there is no hope. If one kills you, there is also no hope (You probably could have figured that out on your own, though). The only way to get rid of these is to remind them of their loving nature (if such a nature exists) or help them with unfinished business. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL._

Perry kind of had an idea of which ghost they were dealing with. But he had to be certain.

He took Lowe's glasses off and put them on his own face. Then, very slowly, he pulled back the curtain on the window.

A little transparent fennec fox with unblinking red eyes stared back at him. It had a hideous grin that the Cheshire cat would have envied. The sight made Perry's heart nearly stop in fear.

"HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIiiiii." The ghost said, barely opening its mouth to get the words out.

The scratched words _HI LOWE_ were all over the window.

Perry tried to stop himself from shaking. "He…hello… w…what have you been doing?"

He hoped that the ghost would calm down if someone talked to him, or perhaps even become a little normal.

"Iiiiiiiiiiii am writttinng." The ghost said. "IIiiiiiiiiii ammmmmm."

"P…please let us help… you." Perry stuttered. "Don't harm Lowe anymore… he's y-your son, your son. You w-want to help him, don't you?"

"HAAAPPPPPYYYY DEEEATTTHHHHH DAAAYYYYY TOOOOO YOOOUUUUUUUUU!" The ghost began to sing in a horrible screech. "HAAAPPPPYYY DEEEATTTHHH DAAAYYY DDDEEEAAARRR LOOWWWWWEEE!"

Perry wondered how Lowe was sleeping through his father's song. He removed Lowe's glasses. Not being able to see the ghost calmed him down a little.

"Do you have unfinished business?" Perry asked.

"Whhhyyyy yeesss! IIiiii neevverrr finiishshheedd killliinnggg himmm!"

"You're not killing Lowe." Perry said sternly.

"LOOOWOWWWEEEEE!" The ghost squealed.

Perry noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A music box was nailed to the side of the house.

"Do you like music?" Perry asked.

"Mussic?" The ghost asked in a soft voice. It went back to full volume in another second. "LOOOWWWWWEEEEE!"

Perry grabbed a music box from Lowe's coffee table and brought it back to the window. He wound it up.

It began to play a cheerful tune. The ghost's screeching fell silent.

Perry put Lowe's glasses back on.

The ghost no longer looked terrifying. It looked like a normal fennec fox. Its eyes were wide.

"Music…" He said softly. "Music… I like music…"

His eyes focused on Perry.

"Thank you." He said. "Thank you for saving my son."

He vanished in a thin stream of smoke.

Perry heard movement in the room. He looked over at Lowe.

Lowe was sitting up in the armchair. His eyes were wide.

"Never underestimate the power of a music box." Perry said.


	8. Chapter 8

"Come in, Perry." Flynn spoke into a small box that looked kind of like a tofu cube. "Have you located any exits?"

"Not yet." Agent's voice said through the cube. "Stay focused. Other things may overheat. You don't want to get caught in another explosion."

Flynn stopped suddenly. Ferb crashed into him.

There was a fork in the path.

"Go right." Ferb said. "It looks safer."

Flynn nodded. "No blinking lights. Come on."

They walked down the hall.

"So in the future you have tofu walkie-talkies?" Ferb asked.

"It's not tofu." Flynn huffed. "It's a polyester-"

"Phineas!" Fletcher shouted though the tofu cube. "Come in, Phineas!"  
>"Right here." Flynn said.<p>

"Use extreme caution. They know we've escaped, so they're overheating all of their equipment. We need to get off as soon as possible. I called Baljeet and he said he could send a ship back in time to us. I sent the coordinates to you and Perry."

Flynn checked a small device. "Got them."

"Keep me safe, brother."

Flynn sighed and squished the tofu cube between his fingers. It bounced back into shape. He stuck it into his pocket.

"Come on." Flynn said wearily to Ferb. "Keep up."

**...**

"Where's Ferb?"

"The same place we are." Agent said. "We'll find him again. Ah, here's an exit."

Agent stopped in front of a small control panel next to a door. He stared at it for a moment. "I was never good at breaking codes. P… P… Pete… that panda I used to work with whose name I forget was good at breaking codes. I may be able to crack it…"

"Get back!" Phineas shouted.

Agent jumped back just in time. The control panel exploded into flames that quickly extinguished.

And the whole place plunged into darkness.

**...**

Ferb jumped when he heard the explosion. At first he thought he had hit his head on the wall, and that was why everything was so dark.

"Ferb!" Flynn called. "Ferb, are you all right? Where are you?"

"Right here." Ferb said.

"Great. Stay there." Ferb heard Flynn take something out of his pocket. "Come in, Ferb. Are you there?"

Silence.

Flynn tried again. "Perry, come in. Are you there?"  
>More silence.<p>

"Lost the signal." Flynn said. "I hope they're all right."

**...**

"Perry?" Phineas called.

"Right here." Agent said. "I think I broke something, though."

Phineas followed his voice. He felt around on the floor until he touched fur. "Are you okay, Perry? What did you break?"

"The lighting system, apparently."

"Oh. I thought you hurt yourself."

"Lost a lot of wind." Agent breathed. "Other than that, I'm fine. Do you know where my cane went?"

"No. I'll look for it."

"I'll try to contact the others." Agent said.

Phineas managed to find Agent's cane and retraced his steps. "Did you get them?"

"No good." Agent said. "My signal's faulty."

Phineas heard a click, and a faint light came on. Agent was holding up a small flashlight.

"Come on. Let's find another way out." Agent took his cane and pushed himself up.

"Where's Ferb? Is he okay?" Phineas asked.

"He's probably fine. The explosion happened on our end." Agent said.

"I'm scared." Phineas said. He looked down at the floor.

Agent put a bony hand on Phineas's shoulder. "I promise you, Phinny. I will make sure no harm comes to you. You will get out, understand?"

Phineas bit his lip.

"Don't worry. Flynn will do the same for your brother. He loves him."

"It hasn't seemed like he does." Phineas admitted, looking down at the floor. "And I don't know why."  
>"Those two have gone through a rough patch." Agent said. "Fletcher started building things by himself without telling Flynn. Flynn got very upset. Fletcher had no idea he would, but now he feels terrible. They've been going at it a while. And now Flynn creates these huge bots, and they go bad, and it's a huge blow to him. You're different, Phinny. Children see things differently. I hope your brother can remind him of who he used to be. In a way, it's good that we all got separated."<p>

**...**

"I don't believe I'll ever be able to repay you for what you've done."

"You don't have to." Perry said. "I mean, by helping me sort stuff out… and you saved my life back there, by the way."

Lowe shook his head. "My father tormented me for thirteen years. You spared me from having to go through that my whole life. There must be something I can do for you."

"Honestly, I don't need anything." Perry felt wonderful. The ghost had vanished along with the cold, shaky feelings he had gotten after being split in half.

"We never finished our session." Lowe said.

"That is true." Perry said. "Shouldn't let your excessive number of couches go to waste, I guess. Do people give you them for Christmas or something? Or do you collect them?"

Lowe smiled. "Actually, I entered the lottery a while back. It turned out that the prize wasn't a thousand dollars, but a thousand dollars worth in couches."

**...**

"Ferdinand? Frederick? Firenzo? Francisco?"

Fletcher turned around. "…Ferb?"

"Ferb. That was your name." Doofenshmirtz said, glad to have finally remembered. "I think you may wanna take a look at that screen."

He pointed up at the television screen hanging off of the ceiling.

Fletcher shook his head. "Already looked at that. It didn't connect to an exit."

"Well, it's saying something about the Earth going to explode in something seconds. Oh, I think the robots are planning to use the artillery they're showing on the screen to blow up the planet in… say… an hour."

Fletcher stopped walking. He backed up and looked at the screen.

"Oh dear." He said.

A garbled transmission started to come in. "Ferb! Hey, I got a signal. You there?"

Fletcher grabbed his thing that Doofenshmirtz had decided to call the talkinator and spoke into it. "Yes. Listen, Phin- bad news. We have to destroy this place if we can before an hour's up. We HAVE to find a way to escape. Have you gotten hold of your younger self and Perry yet?"

"No. I'm worried."

"Well, you're still here, so I guess we can assume nothing's happened to you. We have to get out quickly. Move faster."

"Roger."

"Ugh, I hate Roger." Doofenshmirtz said.

**...**

"People just annoy me sometimes." Perry said. "You know what I despise? When you wake up and come out of the bedroom, and INSTANTLY someone asks, 'How did you sleep?' I HATE that stupid question so much. Every time someone says it, I get SO angry. Especially after a nap. It's basically the vocal equivalent of someone standing over you and stalking you while you sleep. Which I happen to know Irving used to do to my owners. It's really creepy. I woke up and there he is peeking through the window, counting the number of times they inhale. I keep the window closed now. Anyway, it's MY business how I slept and if I wanna tell them, I will!"

Lowe just nodded and scribbled a few words down on his notepad. "Understandable."

"Sorry for ranting to you for an hour."

"No, it's good for you to get that out. Do you want to try something different? I have a handshake test."

"I'm not a handshaking expert, so I'll probably fail." Perry said.

Lowe smiled. "No, no." He stood up. "Pretend like you're meeting me for the first time, so we come up to each other and shake hands."

"I have no idea how this will do anything, but sure." Perry agreed.

After a moment, Lowe held out his hand. Perry took it and allowed Lowe to shake it.

"That was pointless." Perry said.

"Not at all." Lowe said.

"How does it work, then?"

"The way you approach a handshake says a lot about you. You, for instance, like to be given your space. You prefer for someone to hold their hand out to you and allow you to decide to take it, rather than have them take your hand without allowing you that decision. You also prefer that they offer their hand first, you don't like to make the first move."

"I had no idea my handshake said all that."

"Lots of things say things about you. The way you hold yourself: You are very confident in your abilities. The way you grip onto things given to you: You hate to lose things. I've noticed a lot about you just by watching you."

"Weird. So… you have no idea what that dream I had meant?"

"I believe it means you're feeling angry or lonely about something. Did you get into a fight with someone? Or are you feeling neglected?"

"No… my owners take good care of me. And I watch over them…"

Perry had fallen to the ground. He had seen the weirdest thing flash before his eyes- A middle-aged man that looked exactly like Phineas trying to hold back a wailing Ferb and a furious Doofenshmirtz.

"They're in trouble, Lowe." Perry whimpered. "They need me."

**...**

"We're almost out." Flynn said. "I think that's an exit over there. We'll find the ship Baljeet sent and split."

Ferb followed him toward the door.

"Uh, a little help, guys?"

Ferb looked down the giant chasm to his right. Doofenshmirtz was hanging onto a small pole, dangling precariously over the abyss.

"What happened?" Ferb asked.

"It's a very long story involving lima beans and I'd rather not get into it. Could you just give me a hand?"

Flynn looked down at him. "Where's my brother? Wasn't he with you?"

"Beats me. Um, I think my hand is slipping."

"Where's my brother?"

"I dunno, but I'm gonna fall in a couple seconds if you don't…"

Ferb dug a rope out of his pocket and tossed it down to Doofenshmirtz. Doofenshmirtz caught it.

Ferb tried to pull him up, but found himself slipping toward the edge.

"Stop it!" Flynn grabbed Ferb. "Don't fall off!"

"I'm not trying to!" Ferb said.

Flynn tugged Ferb back and with surprising strength managed to get him and Doofenshmirtz back on their feet. He was panting.

"Thank you." Doofenshmirtz said, brushing himself off.

"Don't ever do anything like that again." Flynn gasped. "I could have lost you."

"I thought you didn't like me anymore." Ferb said.

Flynn shook his head. "Don't be stupid. I love you. You're my best friend. Now come on. The exit's right there."

**...**

Fletcher was relieved to see Flynn, Ferb and Doofenshmirtz enter the spacecraft. He closed the door behind them.

"Good to see you all. Any sign of young Phineas or Perry?"

They all shook their heads, and Ferb's heart sank.

"Try to contact them." Fletcher said to Flynn. "The earth explodes in five minutes. We have to make sure they're out before we destroy the robots' spaceship."

Even Doofenshmirtz looked worried.

Flynn sighed. "The transmission won't go through. Ferb… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was so cold to you. We used to be so close. I don't ever want to lose you as a friend."

"You never did, Phineas." Fletcher said. "And I forgive you."

Flynn smiled sadly. He had tears in his eyes. "That's all I needed to know. You need to hurry now. Set the coordinates. I know what we have to destroy today."


	9. Chapter 9

"NO!" Ferb shouted.

He rushed toward the control panel of the ship and blocked it best he could.

"It's the only way, Ferb." Flynn said sadly. "The entire planet is at stake. We just have to hope they got out."

Fletcher shook his head. "We have to try to contact them again. We have to make sure they got out safely."

He took out the tofu cube and tried to get a signal.

"You can't." Ferb said to Flynn, shaking with anger. "You can't. Not until they're out."

"They could be out." Fletcher said.

"But what if they're not?"

Flynn looked down at the floor. "We have to, Ferb. I know Perry would want us to do it. And I know I have to."

"You can't speak for my brother!" Ferb snapped. "You're not him!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not! You've had experiences he hasn't. You've done things and heard things that he hasn't. He knows things that you've forgotten. You CAN'T SPEAK FOR HIM!"

The clock on the spaceship ticked. One minute remained.

"Ferb, get out of the way." Flynn looked close to tears. "Please. This is just as hard for me as it is for you."

He tried to shove Ferb out of the way. Ferb stood his ground.

Flynn tried again- and was pulled back by Doofenshmirtz.

"We're not letting you do this." Ferb growled.

Flynn squirmed out of Doofenshmirtz's grip and pressed a button on the control panel. Ferb tried to reset the control panel.

A gigantic explosion shook the ship. Through the viewport, the robot ship burst into flame- and was gone.

Ferb screamed. He fell to the ground, clawing at it with his fists.

A door in the side of their control room opened. A tiny alien climbed in.

"Meap?" Ferb asked weakly.

"Meap." Said Meap.

Ferb watched him.

Perry entered through the door next. "Ferb? We heard you screaming down the hall. Is everyone okay?"

"Perry…" Ferb whimpered.

"It's all right, Ferb. I'm glad everyone got out okay. What happened? What did I miss?"

"Phineas…" Ferb sputtered. "Phineas... is..."

"Phineas is what?"

Phineas came up behind Perry, followed closely by Agent.

Ferb sat up.

"Meap and I located them through a tracking device he had. Seems like they didn't get off with you." Perry said.

"Phineas!"

"Ferb!"

The boys ran to each other and hugged. Ferb's heart rate returned to normal.

Flynn smiled. Fletcher looked incredibly relieved.

Doofenshmirtz fainted, whacking his head against the steering wheel in the process.

"He's so overly dramatic." Agent muttered. "What, did he think we were dead or something?"

**...**

"It's kind of sad leaving." Flynn said as the time machine started to pull forward into the future. "I miss my childhood."

"I'll miss little Ferb." Fletcher said. "He was so adorable."

"In your completely unbiased opinion." Flynn said. "Maybe we can come back and visit."

"Flip through photo albums." Agent said. "Time travel messes things up. I already had to wipe their memories."

"Are you wiping ours?" Flynn asked nervously.

"Nah. You two are friends again. Why should I ruin that?"

"Will they be confused?" Fletcher asked.

"Filled their heads with false memories. They'll be fine."

They sat in silence for a while.

"Ferb?" Flynn asked.

"Yeah?"

"A tofu cube, really?"

Fletcher shrugged. "Our communicators DO look like tofu, to be fair."

"Squishalicious." Agent muttered.

**...**

"Hope you guys enjoyed that vacation." Perry said.

"Do we get to ride the giant truck home?" Phineas asked.

Perry nodded.

"I call shotgun!" Doofenshmirtz shouted.

"Shotgun's already been called." Ferb informed him.

"Yeah, by me." Phineas said.

"No. By me." Ferb said.

Perry sighed. He sat down on the bed and waited for the three to stop duking it out.

For some reason, he felt like he was forgetting something…


End file.
